Benzinga | Jan 4, 2022 02:50PM EST

Stephens Bumps Up Forward Air Price Target By 43%

* Stephens analyst Jack Atkins upgraded Forward Air Corp (NASDAQ:FWRD) to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised the price target to $165 from $115.

* Forward Air, which historically focused on the niche deferred air freight sector, expanded its addressable market to focus more on premium less-than-truckload, or LTL, freight for 2021 and culled non-palletized freight from its network, which served to increase its available capacity by about 20%, mentions Atkins.

* The analyst notes that these and other changes, in addition to the company's "aggressively attacking pricing," have led to a "dramatic increase" in revenue per shipment driving a "meaningful improvement in overall profitability."

* The analyst believes there is potential for re-rating in the stock's trading multiple, as the company executes its plan to expand its existing network of about 100 terminals by about ten or so a year for the next several years.

* Price Action: FWRD shares are trading higher by 2.93% at $124.20 on the last check Tuesday.